Through His Eyes
by arizony
Summary: She was blind, but a certain Water Tribe warrior loved her enough to give her the world.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, any of the characters, nor rights. I am a simple, albeit untalented, wordsmith. Neither do I own any of the rights to "Love is Blind".

A/N: This story is based on a rather familiar (to some) story floating around out there (author unknown). Some of y'all may understand. For those who don't, you will, at the end of this expedition into fiction.

A/N: This is set several years post Finale. There may be some OOC for the characters. My apologies.

* * *

**Through His Eyes**

There was one thing that she wished more than anything. That she could see "him". Yes, there were other things she wanted to see....The sunset over Crescent Moon Bay on the solstice, Wu Long forest in the Earth Kingdom (yeah, she had experienced it, but she wanted to truly see it), and the Crystal Catacombs in Bah Sing Se, among other things. But, the one thing she truly wanted to see was "him", the Water Tribe boy that she loved. "Of course", she thought, "he doesn't care for me, not like I care for him." But, just to see him, well, that would be enough to last her for the rest of her life.

Unbeknownst to her, the Water Tribe warrior loved her. She was everything to him. She was his yin and he was her yang. Yes, they were meant to be together. However, there was one catch. She was blind. No, that didn't matter to him, but it did to her.

One day, one glorious day, she was observing him, without being blatant about it. He was practicing with his boomerang. She still didn't really understand what that meant. Sure, she had held it once, when he had laid it down to go swimming. She knew it was important to him. So, she decided it needed to be protected. While listening to the others swimming and splashing around in the water, she felt the boomerang. It was so smooth, so well formed, just as she imagined him to be. Smooth muscles, well formed muscular body. Suddenly she felt him get out of the water and drop down beside her.

"Hey, thanks for watching that for me."

"No problem", she replied. "I hope you don't mind. I picked it up becaue I got bored and wondered what a boomerang was like...."

"Well", replied the warrior, "I want you to know that I don't let just anyone handle my boomerang. In fact, you are the only one other than my dad that I will allow to touch it."

"Oh", she said. "And why is that?"

"A warrior has to depend on his equipment. If just anyone were to handle it, they might dull it or damage it, making it worthless in battle. Only those I thoroughly trust are allowed to handle my equipment."

At this, she bent her head down so her bangs covered her sightless eyes, and gave a shy smile while handing his boomerang back to him. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Snoozles" she said as she punched him lightly on his shoulder.

That evening, the blind Earth Bender went to sleep with a new smile on her face. A smile that seemed to say to the world, should anyone be looking, that someone thought she was trustworthy, that she was special.

From that day on, the blind Earth Bender and the Brave Water Tribe warrior were seldom seen one without the other. No matter what they were doing, be it hunting, or picking berries, even eating dinner, they were inseparable. No matter where they went, he would tell her about what he saw. The sun and clouds, explaining how they appeared in their eternal dance. The way in which the butterfly-hoppers flitted around from flower to flower. Their colors making it seem as if the flowers themselves were actually flying.

With every description, the love the blind Earth Bender felt for this Water Tribe warrior seemed to grow. No one else took the time to explain things to her. To try to make her part of the conversation to help her understand what everyone was talking about.

The thing that she appreciated most was that the Water Tribe warrior never treated her like she was not able to do things. He treated her like he did everyone else. When he described things to her, she could tell it wasn't because he pitied her. No, it was because he wanted to give her a gift. To be able to see the things that he appreciated and loved.

Somewhere, somehow, this friendship seemed to develop into something more. There seemed to be a mutual feeling between the two. The Water Tribe warrior, once the first in line for meals, now waited for the blind Earth Bender before he filled his bowl, and always waited for her to fill hers first. When rations were short, he ensured that she had more than enough, even though it meant that he went without.

None of this happened in a vacuum. It was so out of character that their friends noticed it.

Then, the day came that the Water Tribe warrior made it official. During an evening when everyone had eaten and were just sitting around the campfire telling stories, he placed his arm around her. She could feel everyone's attention seem to focus on them. She felt her cheeks heat up as she blushed, then, wonder of wonders, she felt him give her a slight squeeze. Not a large one, but she felt it nonetheless. It seemed as natural as if they had been doing it forever, and she liked it. She liked the feeling of his arm around her. She liked the feeling of him letting her know that she was important to him.

As time went on, they became inseparable. She began to dream of building a future with him. Dreams of a house, children, and growing old together became her favorite bed time companions. Soon, however, reality set in. She overheard him telling his father how much he missed his home.. He was from the Southern Water Tribe. A world of snow and ice. She would be without her element. Worse, she couldn't see there. Missing her element was one thing, but truly being blind...No, she couldn't take that.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this first part is so short. I promise that the second half will be posted as soon as possible.

One thing I do want to do, though, is to thank my Beta, Shinobi Bender. She has led this old dog through the twists and turns of learning to use the tools that are available, and has given me much good advice. Anything good about this story is mostly attributable to her. Anything that is not so good, well, that is what the review button is for. Please review and let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own "Avatar: The Last Airbender", any of the characters, nor rights. I am a simple, albeit untalented, wordsmith. Neither do I own any of the rights to "Love is Blind".

A/N: This is set several years post Finale. There may be some OOC for the characters. My apologies.

* * *

**Through His Eyes**

The blind Earth Bender knew that the Water Tribe warrior wanted to return home. To where you had to wear boots and coats to keep warm. She knew that she couldn't be there for him, because she would always be the little blind girl who needed help. She couldn't see with the shoes and boots that were required in that cold, white land. She needed to be able to see. Her freedom required her to be free to walk, to work, to do. No, she couldn't do that with shoes and boots on, no matter how warm they might be.

Still, he persisted. He would woo her, not caring that she was blind. As far as he was concerned, there wasn't anything that she couldn't do. He continued to show her the world. The wildflower fields near Omashu, where she could "see" the flowers blowing in the wind. He took her to the cave of two lovers, a place he never wanted to return to, but he did, because she had never been there, and wanted to "see" it. Anything and everything that she wanted, he would do.

Maybe he wouldn't want her to marry him. Maybe he would just want to continue to be romantic friends, and travel the world, seeing things together. Then the day she dreaded arrived. The day when he came to her with a necklace in his pocket. As he pulled the necklace out, he said "I would do anything for you. I would give you the world, if only you would marry me."

"Oh, Snoozles, you don't have to give me anything like that. I would like one thing, though. If I could have that, then I would marry you. I would marry you today, if only I could see the world that you would give me. Then I would marry you, if I could share that world with you."

_"There"_, she thought. _"My heart might be breaking, but at least he will be able to move on and marry someone who will be able to go with him to that place of cold and ice, where I can't 'see'. Someone who deserves him."_

He told her that he didn't care that others might think that she was brash, that she was uncouth. He didn't care, because he loved her. He was willing to do anything to show her his love. Still, she insisted, she would only marry him if she could see the world with her own eyes. She stood firm on this, as unyielding as her element.

One day, shortly after the Water Tribe warrior had asked, again, for her to marry him, one of their friends brought a letter to her. It seemed that a doctor had discovered a way to bring sight to someone who was blind, and someone had donated some eyes in her name, which were necessary for the operation.

_"Yes!"_ she thought._ "Now I can marry him. I can be the wife he deserves. I can go to that cold, white land of ice and finally share his world with him."_

So, she went to the doctor, where she was prepared for surgery. The surgery was performed, and it seemed like no time at all, and she was back to have the bandages taken off.

IT WAS WONDERFUL!!! All the colors, all the sites, all the myriad of things that she had only imagined before. They were all there.

The doctor told her that she had a visitor outside. A certain Water Tribe warrior was waiting for her it seemed.

_"Yes!"_ she thought, _"finally I get to see him, to know what he looks like. Regardless what he looks like, I love him, and I can't wait to give him my answer. He will be so surprised."_

She could barely conceal her excitement, to gaze on the face of the man she had come to love. Who had taught her that she could be a woman with womanly feelings, while not forgetting her roots, not forgetting that she was the greatest Earth Bender ever.

She approached him, only to discover that he was blind. Why didn't he tell her that he was blind. She wouldn't have rejected him. If only he had told her......After all, she had been born blind. She would have understood. But, to have lied to her, to have led her on.

When he faced her and smiled, asking her how the world looked, she told him, "No, I can't marry you. You didn't tell me the truth. I could have lived with it if you had. I would have understood. But, you lied to me, I can't trust you. I can't marry a blind man. I can't marry you." With that, she turned to run out of the clinic, only to run into the doctor.

The doctor asked her how her eyes were holding up, how she was doing. As she answered him he seemed confused by something, and asked her where the Water Tribe warrior was.

"No", she said. "I told him that I can't marry him because he wasn't truthful with me. He was blind, and I got my eyesight so we could see the world together."

"That's a shame", said the doctor. "You see, he came in here only a few days before your operation. He said that he wanted to give you the best gift he could. So, he asked me if his eyes would do for the operation. So, you see, your eyes, well, they were his. He gave them up, all for you."

With that revelation, the formerly blind Earth Bender suddenly began to cry. Turning she saw the blind Water Tribe warrior who was starting to leave through the door, accompanied by their friends. She ran to him and asked him, "Why? Why didn't you tell me? Why did you have to do this for me?" Throwing her arms around him, she said, "Oh, if only I had known. I would have told you not to do it!"

"I know", the Water Tribe warrior said with a sad smile. "That's why I didn't tell you. Your happiness is more important to me than my eyes, than life itself. Letting you see the world is more important to me than life itself. That's why I gave you my eyes...."

Hearing this, the Earth Bender's new eyes filled with tears, and her lips crashed against the Water Tribe warrior's. With a passion that neither of them knew they possessed, she kissed him, telling him how much she loved him, and how little she deserved him or his love, finally telling him, "Can you forgive me? How dumb could I be? Of course I'll marry you. I've always known I had your heart, and now I have your eyes."

Now, that same Earth Bender accompanies the blind Water Tribe warrior, the one whose bravery and love was so great that he was willing to give her the world. Now she shares that world with him, helping him see it, even as he once helped her see it, through his eyes.

* * *

A/N: Well, there it is. Of course, most of y'all have guessed that the girl is Toph and the guy is Sokka. I know, they are a bit OOC, especially Toph. However, this is a slightly different story. It is based on a story, "Love is Blind", written by an anonymous author.

Once again, I want to offer my thanks to Shinobi Bender. Life with a Beta is so much simpler than it is without one. And Shinobi Bender is an outstanding Beta.

Please read and review. I can only get better if you review.


End file.
